Schemes across Wales which encourage children and young people to adopt healthy walking habits are going from strength to strength.

The organisation Living Streets has delivered a travel tracker which has a reward system to encourage children to travel to school by active and sustainable travel.

Between 2023 and 2025 the organisation worked with over  55,800 pupils in 189 primary schools and 7700 pupils in 42 secondary schools, logging over 5.4 million journeys as part of the Welsh Government funded Walk to School programme. Three Welsh Schools featured in the UK wide Top Ten “WoW tracker” schools’ leaderboard.

Due to the popularity of the programme it has expanded in 2025 – 26, with Welsh Government support, into early years settings under the Little Feet programme, which is for two to five year olds.

Little Feet introduces the benefits of walking to young children and their families, encouraging them to adopt healthy walking habits through topics linked to the Early Learning Goals.

Funding of over £400,000 has been made available for the next financial year in the draft budget to build on this success and deliver Little Feet alongside the wider programme in primary and secondary schools.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales Ken Skates said: “We want all forms of travel to be accessible for everyone.  This includes providing opportunities to walk, wheel and cycle  safely.  Encouraging children and young people to take up healthy walking habits which they can then continue throughout their lives is important. Both children and adults tell us how much they value this time where they walk and chat together. Little Feet is a great initiative which allows children to pick up the walking habit from the earliest opportunity.”

The support for Living Streets is part of a package of measures to encourage people to try making more journeys by walking, wheeling and cycling  and to help make roads and streets safer. 

IMMIGRATION enforcement activity across Wales more than doubled last year, according to UK Government figures, with a sharp rise in workplace raids and arrests — although no confirmed illegal working operations have been publicly identified in Pembrokeshire.

Data released by the Home Office shows that 1,320 workplace raids were carried out across Wales in 2025, resulting in 649 arrests, representing increases of 103% and 85% respectively compared with 2024.

The activity forms part of a wider UK crackdown on illegal working, with officers targeting sectors such as nail bars, car washes, barbers, construction sites and takeaways — industries the government says can be vulnerable to exploitation and unlawful employment practices.

However, the figures are published at an all-Wales level, and the Home Office has not released a county-by-county breakdown. As a result, it remains unclear whether any enforcement operations took place in Pembrokeshire during the period covered.

West Wales examples

While Pembrokeshire has not been named, enforcement activity has been confirmed elsewhere in West and north Wales.

In October, seven Chinese nationals were arrested during a visit to a commercial construction site in Gower, Swansea, with four detained for removal from the UK.

In September, officers visited Star Barbers in Porthmadog, resulting in three arrests for illegal working. Two individuals were placed on immigration bail, while a third agreed to leave the UK voluntarily.

Separate visits to packaging and distribution warehouses in Caldicot also resulted in arrests earlier in the year.

What the figures do — and do not — show

While the government says the increase reflects improved enforcement capacity following a £5m funding boost, immigration specialists note that raids and arrests do not necessarily equate to removals, and that outcomes can include bail, voluntary departure or ongoing legal proceedings.

The Home Office has stated that around 50,000 people were removed from the UK in the past year, a figure which includes voluntary returns as well as enforced removals.

Civil liberties groups have previously raised concerns that high-visibility raids can create fear in migrant communities, particularly where workers may later be found to have lawful status or unresolved immigration claims. The Home Office says the introduction of body-worn cameras is intended to improve accountability and evidence-gathering during operations.

Impact on Welsh businesses

The Secretary of State for Wales said illegal working “fuels the black economy and hurts law-abiding Welsh businesses”, while the Home Secretary described the crackdown as necessary to restore control of the immigration system.

Business groups have broadly supported enforcement against exploitative practices, but have also warned that complex immigration rules and labour shortages continue to place pressure on sectors such as hospitality, food processing and construction — particularly in rural and coastal areas of Wales.

The government has also announced plans to introduce mandatory digital ID to prove the right to work by the end of the current Parliament — a change expected to affect employers across Wales, including small businesses.

With enforcement activity rising elsewhere, questions remain about whether operations have taken place in Pembrokeshire without public disclosure, or whether the county has so far avoided targeted action.

Further clarity would require Freedom of Information requests or direct confirmation from Immigration Enforcement teams covering the Dyfed-Powys area.

Authority faces difficult decisions ahead of 2026/27 budget

CARMARTHENSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL has launched a public consultation on its plans to address significant budget pressures, as it works to close a £25 million shortfall in its draft budget for 2026/27.

Like councils across Wales, Carmarthenshire is facing mounting financial challenges driven by inflation, rising demand for services and funding constraints. More than three quarters of the Council’s net revenue budget for day-to-day services such as social care and education comes from grants provided by the Welsh Government, which itself receives a block grant from the UK Government.

Only 17% of the Council’s income is generated through Council Tax.

In November 2025, the Welsh Government announced a provisional funding settlement for Carmarthenshire of 2.3%. To help bridge the gap, the Council has identified more than £9.5 million in operational savings and has also applied a recurrent £5 million saving through a reduction in employer contributions to the Dyfed Pension Fund.

Despite these measures, and a proposed Council Tax increase of 6.5%, the Council still faces a remaining shortfall of £3.5 million in its draft budget.

Since those figures were prepared, the Welsh Labour Government reached a budget agreement with Plaid Cymru on 9 December 2025. This could result in an overall funding increase of 4.1% for Carmarthenshire in 2026/27. The deal will be voted on by the Senedd on 20 January 2026.

However, until the final funding settlement is confirmed, the Council is consulting residents based on the original 2.3% provisional increase.

Savings proposals

The Council has a legal duty to set a balanced budget, ensuring that income from sources such as the Revenue Support Grant, Council Tax, paid-for services and grants meets its expenditure.

Last year, spending reductions of more than £8 million were delivered, including savings in educational transport, public conveniences and some cultural and leisure services. Building on this, the Council is proposing a further £9.5 million in operational savings for 2026/27.

Proposals focus on Integrated Services, Adult Services, Children’s Services and Environmental Infrastructure. Measures include expanding in-house care services, supporting greater independence where possible, extending the Families Together programme to reduce the need for children to enter care, increasing local fostering provision, and identifying efficiencies across highways and transport.

A significant element of the budget strategy is the reduction in employer pension contributions. Strong investment performance has allowed the Dyfed Pension Fund to reduce the Council’s contribution rate from 16.2% to 12.5% between April 2026 and March 2029. This delivers a recurrent £5 million saving with no service reductions, job losses or impact on pension benefits.

Cabinet member’s comments

Cabinet Member for Resources, Alun Lenny said the financial outlook remained extremely challenging.

He said: “Carmarthenshire County Council, like all local authorities across Wales, is facing very difficult budget decisions due to factors largely outside our control, including inflation, nationally agreed pay settlements and the level of funding provided by the Welsh Government.

“Demand for services continues to grow. Social care is under particular pressure due to an ageing population, rising commissioned care costs, Foundation Living Wage increases and capped client contributions.

“Children’s Services are also experiencing significant pressures, with more children requiring specialist residential placements, higher fostering payments and increasing complexity of need.

“Education faces challenges from school overspends, inflation and pay awards, as well as rising levels of additional learning needs, elective home education, attendance issues and behavioural pressures.

“Even after identifying £9.5 million of operational savings, we are still facing a significant budget gap. That is why it is vital that residents, businesses and stakeholders have their say on how we address these challenges.”

Have your say

The Council is inviting residents, businesses and voluntary and community organisations to comment on the proposed savings. Feedback will be considered by councillors as part of the final budget-setting process, ahead of approval by Full Council in March 2026.

Views can be shared online via the Council’s website or in person at customer service Hwb centres in Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford.

The consultation closes on 1 February 2026.